Tainted Evil
by Rainia Wolf
Summary: After the murder of her family Candika Harrison is shipped of to new relatives. Because she is human, her new family, the Redferns, don't accept her. Not wanting to be an outcast forever, she needs some answers...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimers: The Night World belongs to LJS. The characters of Candika Harrison, Ara Redfern, Darrian Redfern, Susan Acavedo, Chandra Harrison and anyone else unrecognised belong to me.   
  
Summary: After the murder of her family Candika Harrison is shipped of to new relatives. Because she is human, her new family, the Redferns, don't accept her. Not wanting to be an outcast forever, she needs some answers...  
  
  
Part 1  
  
When Candika woke, she knew there was something wrong. She didn't know how she knew that, she just knew. She heard the sound of muffled voices, banging. A scream sliced through the air, followed by a second. The both were cut off abruptly. She jumped out of bed, running into the hall.   
  
Smoke was pouring out of her parents' bedroom. Something...something really bad was happening. There were dark figures in the hall. Candika pressed herself against the wall, praying silently that they wouldn't notice her.   
  
They didn't, they ran down the stairs and out the front door. Candika stood there, panic rising, not knowing what to do. Her parents had been murdered, and someone had set them on fire. Before long the whole house would be ablaze. She hurried to her room, grabbing the phone. Dead. The line didn't work.   
  
Still...Thank God for the wonderful inventions of cell phones. She called the police and the fire department. Sirens sounded in the distant.   
  
The police and the fire men came, they rescued her. After that, everything became fairly hazy. Candika's mind became kind of dim, and she just let everyone else take care of her.   
  
She was shipped off to distant relatives on the small island of Moon Bay. It sounded like a nice town. But she got the impression that her new family didn't really want her.   
  
Her own family were dead. But for some reason, she wasn't crying. That was wrong, wasn't it? What did it matter? Everything was different now.   
  
She found herself alone in the early hours of the morning. She couldn't sleep. She didn't know if she'd ever sleep again. Maybe she was misjudging her new family.   
  
Maybe things would be different...  
  
* * *  
Part 2  
  
Ara scowled. She watched from the shadows as her idiot parents let the little human bitch into their house. What were they *thinking?* They were Redferns! This kid was a human!  
  
Humans were vermin. There was nothing good about them. The only thing they were useful for was food or slave labour, and the way they were acting around this girl didn't look as if she was going to be slave labour.   
  
She had to get out of here. Heading into her room she climbed out the window onto the slanted roof. The night was cold and windy, but the chilly weather had no affect on Ara as she jumped lightly to the ground, landing neatly like a cat. Her black hair flew like a pennant behind her, falling messily around her shoulders.  
  
Ara didn't care as she headed off into the night. The local Black Iris club was already packed with Night People. Real people. Good people. Vampires were the only race worth worrying about. Maybe witches. Shapeshifters were almost as useless as humans.   
  
"What's up Ara? You look rather peeved." Ara smiled as she felt strong arms encircle her waist, and cool lips on her slender throat.   
  
"Bite me, Darrian and you die," she said with a smile. She turned, the arms around her not moving.   
  
Darrien Redfern gave her one of his most sexy smiles. Dark hair fell over one eye, currently a murky green. "Who pissed you off?"  
  
"You're doing a pretty good job." Ara said, her arms slipping around his neck. She sighed, and leaned against him, taking comfort in her boyfriend's embrace. "My parents are such idiots," she muttered, knowing despite the loud music that he'd hear her.   
  
"What'd you mean?" he asked, pulling her over to a table. A single candle burned in the centre, the flame dancing in the darkness.   
  
Ara sighed. "They've invited a *human* to come and live with us, some sort of distant relatives whose parents have just been murdered or something like that." She scowled.   
  
"So?" Darrian said with a shrug. "Just ignore them." He grinned. "Or kill them."  
  
Ara smiled faintly. "I might have to," she said. She knew he'd cheer her up.   
  
As if reading her thoughts Darrian grinned at her. Ara eyed him suspiciously but didn't say anything. "I can think of a few ways to cheer you up."  
  
Ara sighed again. "Oh all right." She said, letting him pull her up and out the club. As she let Darrian cheer her up she put the thoughts of the human out her mind. She'd have to have a talk with the girl tomorrow about who was boss around here, what the rules were, and what happened to stupid little human vermin who broke the rules.  
  
* * *  
Part 3  
  
Candika sighed, longing to go home. She had been stuck with the Redfern family for two weeks now, and every day was like sheer hell. Her cousin Ara had made it pretty clear that Candika wasn't wanted there.   
  
Ara's friends were cruel and mean, and loved to make her miserable. But there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't go home. This was home now.   
  
She sat in her English class, bored as hell. She could hear Ara and her friends snickering as another girl in the class, Susan Acevado, read a Shakespeare sonnet.  
  
Ara and co seemed to love making her miserable too. Why, Candika couldn't understand, Susan was a perfectly nice person, quiet, a little shy.   
  
Glancing around, she noticed Darrien Redfern had his eye on her. She had never attracted male attention before, and was a little wary, wondering if he was just going to be cruel to her like the others, or was this really genuine interest.   
  
Candika sighed, turning her attention back to the front of the class, as the teacher asked what the meaning of the sonnet was. She groaned silently, remembering how she hated poetry. She never had a clue about what it meant. Apparently Susan didn't either. She just looked rather blank.   
  
Ara and co snickered harder. "Dumb furball," Ara muttered.  
  
"Care to share your thoughts, Ara?" the teacher asked with a scowl.  
  
Ara smirked and started blathering about the deep hidden meanings in the poem. Candika shook her head. When class finally ended she felt a wave of release.   
  
As the students flooded out, Ara deliberately walked into Susan, knocking her papers and books out her hands. Candika shook her head in disgust, bending to help.  
  
"What a bitch," she snorted.   
  
"Tell me about it," Susan muttered, gathering her books and taking the papers Candika handed her. "How the hell do you live her with her?"  
  
Candika shrugged. "I don't get a choice," she said sourly. As they left the room she noticed Darrien was still looking at her, hesitating a little, as if wondering if he should come and talk to her.   
  
Susan noticed him looking. "I wouldn't get your hopes up," she said. "He's Ara's boyfriend. If she finds out he's interested in you I wouldn't be surprised if she ate you alive."  
  
Candika snorted again. "Maybe I *should* go for him just to piss her off."  
* * *  
  
Darrien shook his head slightly, not sure why Ara's teasing the vermin and the werewolf suddenly bothered him so much. Ara wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, even if she was gorgeous.   
  
The new human girl was pretty, hair as red as blood, a contrast to the violet eyes and pale skin. She was supple and slender wit nice curves. She was dressed simply in jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt. If she had made an effort to perhaps wear something a little more fashionable she could have been quite stunning.   
  
"What are you doing?" Ara was suddenly behind him, scowling as she saw him looking at the girl.   
  
"Who's that?" he asked. "The redhead with the werewolf?"  
  
Ara looked at him, a disgusted expression on her face. "Does it matter? She's vermin."  
  
"But how come she has Harman eyes?" he asked.   
  
Ara shrugged. "Contacts?"  
  
"Her name is Candika Harrison," Ara's friend Dia Blackthorn supplied for him. "Ara's been whining non-stop about her since she moved in."  
  
For several seconds Darrien studied Ara. Something puzzled him. "If that girl's human," he said. "What's she doing staying with you? How do you have human relations?"  
  
Ara opened her mouth, then shut it, for once at a loss for words. She looked rather puzzled. "I don't know," she admitted.   
  
He shrugged and started following the girls to class. Yet it was the pretty human girl who remained in his thoughts. What was wrong with him? Falling for humans was forbidden.  
  
Besides, he had Ara. He should be satisfied.  
  
Right?  
  
* * *  
  
Part 4  
  
The sky was already going dark. Candika sighed, not looking forward to walking home after dark. She and Susan had been in the library working on an English project they had been paired up for.   
  
"This is all starting to get a little meaningless now," Candika said with a sigh. She stared at the words on the page, rubbing her temples, ready to give up for the day.   
  
"Tell me about it," Susan said. She seemed just as bored. English was her least favourite subject too.   
  
They packed up their stuff, leaving the almost deserted library. "We've gotta get this done by Wednesday," Candika said as they walked down the library steps. The night was cold and a chilly breeze blew. "Wanna come back to my house? We'll have a break then have a final stab at it later on."  
  
"Sure."  
  
They started walking in silence back to Candika's house. Ara wasn't going to be happy about it if she was there. She seemed to love giving both Candika and Susan a hard time.   
  
Candika didn't get it. She could hear giggling behind them and heavy, deliberate footsteps. Susan sighed heavily. "Great," she muttered. "Don't look," she said as she saw Candika start to turn.   
  
Candika sighed, realising Ara and co must be following them. She shook her head in annoyance as she could hear them whispering loudly. Finally, she couldn't stand anymore. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded, turning round.   
  
Susan sighed herself, shaking her own head in exasperation. Candika ignored her, sick of this. Why would they put up with it? The group included Ara, Dia and Ivy Mandrill.   
  
Ara laughed harshly, her eyes glinting in the dark. She stood there in front of her friends, clad in revealing black leather. Candika wondered how she could stand it, it was freezing. "You're never gonna be part," she said with a sneer.  
  
Candika frowned. "Part of what?"  
  
Dia shook her head, almost sadly, but her red eyes sparkled with amusement. "Sad, isn't it?" she said to Ara. "Shame you're tainted with vermin blood."  
  
Ara snorted in contempt. "*She's* vermin," she said, glaring at Candika.   
  
"Pathetic," Ivy agreed. "Vermin and Furball, what a combination."  
  
  
  
  
"Get a life, Ivy," Susan muttered. "Don't you have anything better to do?"  
  
Ivy's cold laugher sounded like glass breaking. "I have a life. It's you two that don't have one."  
  
"Or won't for much longer," Dia added with a smirk.   
  
Candika felt angry, and pathetic, not really being able to stand up for herself, when all they did was come back with another insult. And now they were being threatened? She and Susan exchanged glances.   
  
"Let's just keep going," Susan said softly, turning around and starting to walk again.  
  
Before she could get very far Dia was somehow in front of her. Candika didn't understand how it could have happened. One minute Dia was at least twenty paces back, and within the blink of an eye...  
  
"You two aren't going anywhere," Dia said with another smirk.   
  
Susan moved to step around her, but Dia blocked her path. Ivy moved into a position behind her, completely surrounding them. Ivy looked at Ara, as if for conformation. Ara smiled and nodded.   
  
Candika saw nothing except for a flash of something silver, Susan shrieked, blood splurted. Candika found herself riveted to the spot. Something was happening to Susan.  
  
Her skin was almost flowing, her hair was lengthening growing all over her body, and within minutes, she wasn't even Susan at all anymore, but a large brown *wolf* that had charged at Dia and was ripping her throat out. Ivy tried to throw herself forwards, but the wolf's powerful back legs lashed out, slashing Ivy in the stomach. Once finished with eating a screaming Dia, the wolf turned its wrath on Ivy. Candika stood there, frozen in shocked terror, but could also feel a spark of amusement rising.   
  
She looked around, but could see that Ara had fled. Too bad. When Ivy had stopped screaming the wolf stood up on its hind legs and became Susan again.  
  
They stood there in silence, looking at the still-oozing bodies of Ivy and Dia.   
  
"They got what they deserved," Susan said simply. "Bitches."  
  
Candika's eyebrow raised. "You're a..." She trailed off.  
  
"Werewolf?" Susan supplied for her. "Yeah. The other Night People like Ivy and Dia don't like werewolves."  
  
Candika was surprised, and confused. "What's Night People?" she asked.   
  
Susan looked just as surprised. "You don't know?"  
  
"Would I ask if I didn't know?" Candika snorted.   
  
Susan's eyebrow raised. "I just assumed since you live with Redferns, you knew."  
  
Candika sighed, exasperated. "Well I don't know, but I do need to know."  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
* * *  
Part 5  
  
As agreed in the first place Candika and Susan headed back to Candika's place without interruption from more Night People. They just left the two bodies where Susan had killed them.   
  
Ara wasn't home when they got there, much to Candika's relief. Once they were inside and sat in the lounge, Susan explained the basics of Night World history.   
  
Candika sat back in surprise, not really sure she believed it all. So. There was a hidden society of vampires, witches, werewolves and other shapeshifters, and they were all joined together in this little secret club called Night World.   
  
The Redfern family were the lead vampires. That was what really puzzled her. Redfern, she knew, had been her mother's name before she'd been murdered. She could also recall vaguely she had had a sister a long time ago, but the sister had been kidnapped and no one had ever known what became of her.   
  
"But if Redferns are vampires, would that make me one?" she asked Susan.  
  
Susan shrugged. "I wondered about that," she admitted.   
  
"Why do they keep calling me vermin?" she asked, scowling a little.  
  
Susan frowned. "Vermin is what Night People call humans and Daybreakers." Susan sighed and told her what Daybreakers were.  
  
Night World were the bad guys, who wanted to destroy the human world, and Daybreakers were the good guys who didn't agree with the Night World and wanted to help the humans. It was all very weird, and sounded rather amusing.   
  
But considering what she'd just seen less than ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago, maybe it wasn't all that bizarre after all. She was sitting next to a werewolf. Who had eaten two people. Well, Ivy and Dia had deserved it.   
  
"Maybe you're half and half," Susan suggested. "Half vampire, half human."  
  
"If I'm a vampire why haven't I needed to ever drink blood before?" Candika asked. She shuddered a little at the thought.  
  
"From what I know half breeds don't have to drink blood if they don't use their vampire powers," Susan answered.  
  
They sat there in silence for a little while. Candika decided to take her mind off all of this insane stuff about vampires and secret societies by finally completing their English project, which was what they'd originally come to do.   
  
After Susan went home Candika found herself alone. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone, but knew for certain she didn't want Ara home. Was that why Ara picked on her so much, cause she was half human? What was so bad about humans?  
  
Candika sighed, deciding she was too tired to wrestle with all this now and give up and go to bed.   
  
* * *  
The next day as she walked down the halls of the high school, Candika found herself suddenly much more aware of the people around her. The more she concentrated on her senses, she could feel them seeming to sharpen, her vision was a little better, her hearing a little stronger...  
  
But to get the ultimate use of all her powers, that would mean...she would have to...to actually drink someone's blood.  
  
She didn't know if she could do that. Could she really actually grown fangs and dig them into a person's neck, feeling the hot, warm blood gushing into her mouth...  
  
At the thought, she could feel her gums starting to tingle. She quickly tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind. She had learned that humans discovering the Night World was forbidden and that they had to be killed instantly.   
  
Moon Bay was a Night Persons' island, where humans had been allowed to come in and settle amongst them, providing cheap labour and food. Anyone could be a Night Person, and she'd never know. Unless, of course...  
  
No. No. She was fine just staying as human for now.   
  
Not paying attention to where she was going and so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn't see Darrien coming until she'd bumped into him. "Sorry," she muttered, forcing herself to meet his eyes.  
  
He glared at her, a little annoyed. "Watch where you're going in future," he grumbled. He moved slightly to get by her, and his bare hand brushed against hers...  
  
Something happened that Candika had never experienced or expected in her entire life.  
  
Sparks seemed to shoot from the skin-to-skin contact, and her entire vision was going pink. She stared at Darrien in utter disbelief. He just stared back at her. A white light was starting to bloom,, but it wasn't something surrounding them, it was something happening inside her *mind*.  
  
She was being drawn to him, pulled towards him against her will. And the next thing she knew his lips had pressed against hers, he was pulling her closer...  
  
She broke off in surprise, and the illusion seemed to be shattered. They were back in the high school hallway, and curious passerbyers were giving them very strange looks.  
  
"Shit," Darrien muttered. Before Candika could do anything he had grabbed her arm in a vice like grip and dragged her into an empty classroom away from prying eyes.   
  
"You want to tell me what the hell that was?" she asked him, yanking her arm free.  
  
He let her go. "It's the damn soulmate principle," he said with a heavy sigh.   
  
Candika frowned. Soulmate principle? "Is that something to do with the Night World?"  
  
Darrien stared at her, looking surprised. "How do you know?" he demanded.   
  
Candika shrugged. "Susan told me last night."  
  
Darrien scowled and shook his head in disgust. "Dumb furballs that can't keep their mouths shut," he muttered.   
  
Candika was annoyed. "It wasn't Susan's fault. Your friends attacked her and she had to defend herself." She smirked a little. "But Ivy and Dia got what was coming to them. Then we realised I'm half vamp, half human, so technically, it's okay for me to know."  
  
Darrien just stared at her. He didn't seem too impressed. He sighed heavily, as if this was the worst thing that could have happened to him.   
  
"What's the problem with this thing, anyway?" Candika asked. "What *are* soulmates?"  
  
Darrien sighed a second time. If he did that again Candika decided she would punch him. He was really starting to get on her nerves. She listened as he told her. Her eyebrow raised in disbelief. Him? He was her one and only? *Him*?  
  
"You don't necessarily even have to like your soulmate, or love them," Darrien said. "You get stuck with them and know you won't be happy without them whether you want to or not."  
  
Candika didn't say anything. "There's a little more to it, isn't there?"  
  
Darrien didn't answer. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a harsh voice from the doorway suddenly interrupted them.  
  
"He's moody cause he knows I'll be pissed."  
  
They both turned to see Ara standing in the doorway, and she did, look royally pissed off.   
  
* * *  



	2. Part 2

Part 6  
  
It had taken Chalice Harrison almost five weeks, but she had finally tracked her down.  
  
She knew that Candika was there, somewhere. Something must have happened to make her lose her memory, some sort of magic or something, or she would have started asking questions by now.   
  
At the time of the fire that had killed their parents Chalice herself had been out, and fearing the thought of foster homes, or being shuffled off to distant relatives she knew nothing about, she had run.   
  
Luckily for her, Circle Daybreak were able to help her find somewhere to stay. But she hadn't been able to take Candika with her.   
  
As twins, they had always been unusually close, Chalice could almost feel her sister's distress, and it had been mainly that and some other factors that had driven her to not rest until she'd found her sister and made sure she was safe.  
  
A Daybreak assassin, she had been on an assignment in Moon Bay when she had seen Candika and a 'wolf being attacked by Night People. Angry, she had run to help, but then the 'wolf girl had taken care of the Night People.  
  
Candika had no idea about their heritage at the time, and had left before Chalice had even gotten near her. But now she *knew* that Candika was here, she could devote her time to finding her again.   
  
She had figured her best bet was to try the local high school. School was over for the day, but a large number or students were still hanging around as she made her way towards the main reception.   
  
She was about to go and ask for her sister's locker number or if they could tell her an address when she heard a voice.   
  
"Candika?"  
  
Chalice turned to see the wolf girl who must be a friend of Candika's. Maybe this girl knew who she was. Chalice shook her head. "Not exactly."  
  
The girl looked confused. "Huh? But you..."   
  
"I'm her twin sister, Chalice," Chalice said. "Who are you?"  
  
"Susan Acevado."  
  
"Do you know where I can find Candika? Will she have left already?"  
  
Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could try her locker, or her last class."  
  
Chalice nodded and followed Susan down the halls, seeming empty and echoing with only a few students dotted around. The numbers seemed to have dwindled.  
  
"Hey, there she - ooh, that's bad."  
  
Chalice turned to see Susan pointing just down the hall, where Candika and a guy were walking in the other direction from them. Chalice frowned. "And why is that bad? Who's he?"  
  
Susan explained. Chalice listened, feeling dismay rising. "That's bad," she agreed.  
  
"You think? Now what?"  
  
"We follow them and find out what's going on."  
  
Chalice was getting a prickling feeling telling her something was going to go wrong.   
  
* * *  
Part 7  
  
Ara glared at them, absolutely furious, more at Darrien than anything. What the hell was the stupid asshole thinking? Why would he want a vermin half-breed when he could have her? She was pure Redfern.   
  
Where as little wimpy vermin Candika was half *human*. Surely forbidden as well, half humans couldn't be allowed. They were worse than regular vermin.   
  
Tainted. Un-pure. A waste of space and time. A species that needed to be wiped out.   
  
"Now then," she said, inspecting long sharp, blood red nails. "Why should I not kill the pair of you?"  
  
"Because it isn't fair!" Candika protested. "You can't kill us just because you're pissed off that I'm his soulmate and you're not!"   
  
Ara glared at her, still unable to believe it. Soulmates? They really seemed to believe that too. She sighed. It was sad, really. Pathetic. "Life's a bitch, isn't it?" she said with a smirk.  
  
"So are you," Darrien muttered, folding his arms and staring sullenly at her.   
  
Ara just smiled at him. Why complain? He had a point, for once.   
  
"You can't kill us here at school, anyway," Darrien said, straightening, smirking a little. "Too many possible witnesses."  
  
Ara didn't say anything. He was right, again of course. She glanced out the classroom door to see a group of tough-looking people arriving. She smiled. "My backup are here."  
  
Candika and Darrien exchanged glances. Ara gestured vaguely. "Now they will be more than happy to shoot you all now, so I suggest you get moving," she said cheerfully.  
  
She followed the group out the school and to the waiting van. She sighed, it was too bad she was going to have to dispose of Darrien. Killing him would be fun, enough.  
  
* * *  
Candika didn't bother trying to fight or doing anything as Ara's lackeys marched them to a white van waiting outside the school. She looked around, hoping that someone would be there and get suspicious.  
  
But most of the students were gone now, and no one was hanging around the parking lot. She sighed, sitting down on the cold floor as the van's doors were locked. The engine started and they zoomed off, heading where, Candika didn't know.  
  
She noticed Darrien still looked moody, and about as pissed off as Ara had. She glared at him. "This isn't my fault," she snapped. "I never asked for this. What's your problem?"  
  
Darrien glared back at her. "This is your fault," he muttered, clearly annoyed, "And the problem is I know that if you die, I'll never be the same."  
  
Candika was surprised. She hadn't expected that. This soulmate thing was very confusing. She didn't know if she loved him or hated him yet. He was certainly one of the most infuriating people she had ever met.   
  
"That's the thing about soulmates," Darrien continued sullenly. "You can hate each other - but still know you'll never be the same without the other half."  
  
Candika felt a little insulted. "Do you hate me?" she asked.  
  
Before he could answer the van stopped. They hadn't been travelling for very long. The door opened. Ara glared. "*I* hate you," she sneered.  
  
Candika snorted. "I figured that," she said sourly.   
  
When the and Darrien left the van she was surprised to see that Ara had taken them back home. What was the point of that?  
  
Ara glared at Darrien. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she snapped as she marched them inside. "How can you love vermin?"  
  
  
Darrien didn't answer. He just stared sullenly ahead, not looking at either Candika or Ara, and not answering them either.   
  
Ara led them into the lounge and made them sit on the couch. Her expression had suspiciously brightened. "There's an easy solution to the problem, of course," she said.  
  
Candika snorted. "Oh yeah? What's that?"  
  
She produced a long wooden stake from by the side of the arm chair she'd sat down on. She handed it to Darrien, fixing him with a stunning smile. "Kill her."  
  
* * *  
Part 8  
  
Candika stared at Darrien, holding the stake, her heart pounding in her throat. He looked evenly back at her, his expression rather blank. Ara was smirking at her.   
  
"Come on," she whispered to Darrien. "She's *vermin*. What do you want with her? The Night World officials are just gonna hunt you down."  
  
Darrien didn't move. Candika stood there, waiting. Would he do it? He couldn't. They were soulmates. He said himself if anything happened to her he would never be the same again...  
  
She stared at him, her eyes pleading.  
  
* * *  
Darrien stood there, listening to Ara whispering in his ear, how Candika was just vermin, it was against the law to love her, the Night World would kill him.  
  
Did he care? He looked at the girl standing before him, blood red hair, shimmering violet eyes, right now pleading him not to do it.   
  
He opened his mouth to speak, but his words died on his tongue. If he didn't kill her, then Ara would kill them both.   
  
He could feel a fine tremor overtaking his body. He had never felt like this before, he was always in total control of himself, and a girl had made him feel unsure.  
  
And even worse...he didn't give a damn that she was half human.  
  
Before he could do anything, a rush of activity startled him. The door burst open and two figures were running in, one of the figures was changing shape...becoming a wolf...and the other...the other was Candika...  
  
Huh? What the hell was going on?  
  
There was a blur of motion, he dropped the stake and hurried to Candika's side. She looked just as confused as he did. They stood together watching the two figures dispose of the Night People.  
  
When it was over the wolf shifted back to human, revealing herself as that Susan person from school. He was more confused by the second version of Candika.  
  
"This may sound kind of cliché, but what the hell is going on?" he demanded.  
  
* * *  
Candika just stared, not sure what to do. She was staring to think maybe werewolves weren't as bad as they sounded as Susan and a second figure burst in and started slaughtering the Night People.   
  
But what was even more confusing...another figure who looked like her...  
  
But...she *had* seen that figure before somewhere, but where? What had happened before the fire that had killed her family? She had had...  
  
"Chalice?" she whispered.  
  
Chalice yanked her stake out of Ara and turned to face Candika. "You...remember?"  
  
Candika nodded, and embraced her twin. The effects of what had happened to her must have had some sort of negative consequences that made her mind slightly fuzzy. She hadn't really focused on her family, thinking it was too painful.  
  
For the third time, a plaintive voice interrupted, and Candika turned to Darrien, who was demanding to know "What the hell is going on?"  
  
"This is my sister," Candika told him.  
  
He blinked. "Sister?" Then his lip curled and his eyebrow raised. "Could be fun."  
  
Candika elbowed him. "Jerk," she muttered. "Why couldn't I have been given a less arrogant soulmate?"  
  
Susan was staring at them in utter disbelief. "You two are *soulmates*?"  
  
"I didn't ask for it," Darrien muttered sullenly.   
  
"So now what?" Chalice asked.  
  
Susan smiled slightly. "I think we all know the answer to that one."  
  
Darrien groaned. "I can't believe this is happening to me."  
  
"What's so bad about Daybreak, anyway?" Candika asked.   
  
Chalice grinned. "Nothing, just snotty vamps like Darrien don't see there's more to it than the general principles."  
  
It sounded like a good idea to Candika. She could learn about her new powers, and be accepted for who she was, without being chastised for being half human. She had her sister back, and a new soulmate too, which would be fun, along with the possibility of new friends.  
  
Sometimes happy endings did happen, and this certainly seemed like one.  
  
THE END.  
  



End file.
